THAT will teach me not to listen to the Today programme in the morning.

I arrived in the hotel restaurant for breakfast, and joined Ben Brogan of the Daily Mail at his table. His first words were: “This is bad news about Ruth.”

Immediately I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach. “What do you mean?” I asked, not sure if I wanted to hear the answer. I was right – I didn’t.

I returned, unfed, to my room to make some calls. By the end of them I really wasn’t any the wiser. But the shocking, utterly unexpected truth was plain: Ruth Kelly will stand down as Secretary of State for Transport at the next reshuffle – probably within a fortnight. If nothing else, her announcement will ensure that rumours of an impending reshuffle will now be proved correct.

Ruth was a great boss. She was funny and clever and always encouraging to her ministerial team. When I got into a spot of bother over this blog back in June, her first response was to ask if I was coping okay (she has since confessed to being an avid reader of this blog, so I can add good taste to her list of attributes).

She was also incredibly highly thought of by the transport industry; she gained its respect by mastering her brief and getting to know the issues facing the industry at a dazzling pace. As the country’s first female transport secretary since Barbara Castle, she brought something of that old warhorse’s political judgment and passion to her role.

Even before she became my boss at the department, I liked her. When I first started blogging, with “And another thing 1.0”, I wrote a piece defending her right to choose a private school for one of her children. That decision made her vulnerable to criticism, of course, but I would rather trust the judgment of someone who puts their commitment to their family ahead of political dogma than someone who doesn’t.

Every parent of young children will understand and respect the decision Ruth has made. There will, undoubtedly, be much frenzied speculation about her true motives. On this occasion the media would do well to avoid reading between the lines and to accept that on this occasion, a successful politician has taken a principled and courageous decision to put her family, and her children, first.

Did she not want to spend more time with her children last week? Did she feel that she really couldn’t wait three or four more days until after the shine had gone off of her glorious leader’s speech?

-=-=-

Also, the idea that Gordon is planning a major cabinet reshuffle during the Conservative party conference is frankly stupid. Dave and his crew will spend the whole time making reshuffle jokes and Ministers will get wall-to-wall questions about their job prospects instead of having the chance to do down the Conservatives.

But if it is Winterton, you’ve got to be a contender for for minister of state. You’re more interesting than the other Transport chap, and you’re young enough to climb the ministerial ladders. I guess it all depends whether you’re considered more trouble than you’re worth. Either way, I don’t think you’ll be staying where you are: I reckon you’ll be either minister of state for Transport or a backbencher.

“I wrote a piece defending her right to choose a private school for one of her children”

Of course she would, she was privately educated herself at a very good local school, my Sister went there too. Kelly is well aware that Labour run state schools are less than ideal.

Her education is paying off here as she has recognised the irretrievable nature of the Labour Government and jumped before the ship sinks and takes her with it. What’s more, she does so with all her integrity intact.

A new lucrative career beckons and best of luck to her for her prescience.

I agree with all you wrote – I too have always admired Ruth Kelly and will be sorry to see her go. I am perturbed at how her leaving the government was made known and having read all the newspapers and blogs, the consensus is that Downing Street made a mess of it again! They really are deplorable – trying to demolish David Miliband’s reputation, probably behind press briefing on Ivan Lewis’s misdemeanour which occurred a year ago and was resolved at that time. In all, they need to be made aware that in protecting the PM from dissenters they are destroying the reputation of the Labour Party. I know which is more important?